183229 Flying Officer Donald William Henry Furber.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner.
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

Aged 19.
Son of Joe Furber and Jemima née Park Furber, of Brislington, Bristol.
The marriage of Joe Furber and Jemima Park was registered in Bristol in the quarter ended December 1920.

His birth was registered in Keynsham district, in the quarter ended September 1925.

His death was registered in Towcester district, Northamptonshire, in the quarter ended June 1945.



The following was found on a website of The Uley Society
The Uley Society
(go to page 8)

F/0 DONALD WILLIAM HENRY FURBER- ROYAL AIR FORCE
A framed Commemorative Certificate (similar to the one shown in Alan’s book “A History of Uley” – page 101) was found in a Cheltenham car boot sale in 2009 by Maureen Wakefield’s Son-in-Law. He purchased it for around £7/£8 brought it back to Uley and gave it to the Wakefield family. The sketch on the Certificate was done by Lady Stamer, a well known artist in Uley. Maureen gave it to me for the Uley Archives, but rather than it being locked away in the archive cupboard in the village hall, we both felt that it should belong to a member of the Furber family, so between us we set about doing a bit of Furber family history.

Donald was born in l925 at Keynsham, Somerset, the son of Joseph & Jemima (Jamina) (nee Park) Furber. Joe & Jamina were married in 1920 and held the licence of a public house in Bristol before moving to Uley and becoming licensees of "The Kings Head" in The Street, Uley.

Donald was a student at Dursley Grammar School. He joined the Royal Air Force volunteer Reserve and was in the No. 17 Operational Training Unit based at Turweston, Northants. He was killed when a Wellington Bomber crashed on 26th May l945 on a training flight. Donald was just 19 years old. Records show there were five crew, three were injured and two died. The aircraft is described as a Wellington X and its serial number was LN445, it had taken off from Turweston. Donald’s name is on the Roll of Honour in St. Giles Church, Uley, and his grave is in Uley churchyard. Until a couple of years ago, someone used to visit the grave and attend the Remembrance Day service in Uley. This no longer happens and it is thought that maybe it was Donald’s sister, Pamela, who was living in Cirencester. She is now deceased. (Pamela, at the age of 66, married a widower, John S. Painter, in 1989)

The family eventually moved from Uley to Rhuddlan, nr St. Asaph, N. Wales (Date not known). Joe & Jamina had three children - Pamela born 1923, Donald born 1925 & Anthony John, born 1931. Anthony John, aged 42, married Patricia Maskie in 1973 in St. Asaph. They had one son Paul Anthony Furber born 1974, and one daughter, Siobhan Teresa born 1976, both born in Rhuddlan.

At some point the family moved to N.Ireland. We actually traced Paul & Siobhan, Donald’s nephew & niece, who are both still living in Belfast. A message was left for each of them to make contact explaining we had this certificate in honour of their uncle Donald. There has been no response. We have not pursued this further, but thanks to Maureen Wakefield for her help in tracing the family.